Nothing seems certain in these shaky times. Michael Carroll, author of Awake at Work and an article in the Summer 2009 Tricycle, "Bringing Spiritual Confidence to the Workplace," writes this in a new discussion at the Tricycle Community:

In 1998, after 10 years working for a major publishing firm, I was laid off. Our company had been acquired and I, along with many other executives, was displaced and invited to leave. We were all treated well at our departure and I, for one, left with few hard feelings. Yet I was worried about my future prospects.

On my final day, I spent my time saying farewell to some close colleagues and I recall a particularly insightful conversation with a division president, Sharon, a conversation that to this day reminds me of the wisdom that lay hidden in life's difficulties.